Fathers, Be Good To Your Daughters
by Deniecey
Summary: When Dean receives a call from an old girlfriend, he is shocked to learn that he has a nine year old daughter. After her mother dies, Dean takes Emily on the road with him and begins teaching her to hunt—something which is not an easy feat, considering that she wants nothing to do with hunting.
1. Sweet Child O' Mine

**I published this story a few months ago, but I've gotten a lot better at writing since then, so I'm rewriting it. It still has the same title and most of the things remain the same from before. So if you have found this story, you already know it's about the Supernatural TV series, except with a twist. Dean has a daughter. Most of the story will center on Emily's relationship with her father and uncle and of course hunting. She will get a love interest later on around season six or seven. You might wonder, 'Why wait so long for Emily to get a love interest?' Because I want to establish a good relationship with both her father and uncle before she gets a love interest. (Just think about how overprotective Dean and Sam will be by then.) Also the title of this story comes from the song Daughters by John Mayer, which in my mind is perfect for this story and my future plans for it. And last but not least, Emily's face claim is Britt Robertson. Oh, and this takes place before season one and follows through the series.**

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><p>Chapter 1  Sweet Child O' Mine

_''Sweet child of innocence, living in the present tense.'' _

_- _Kansas

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><p>A few days ago, when Dean received a phone call from an old girlfriend, the last thing he had expected was to spend all night driving to Dayton Iowa, yet here he was, parked in front of a small house in a quite suburban neighborhood.<p>

He dug into his pocket retrieving the small slip of paper he had written her address on. Yep, this was definitely the place. Questions about why he was here, ran through Dean's head. _Why had she called him? Was there a ghost or demon in the area?_ Well the only way he would get answers was to walk up to that door and ring the doorbell.

Opening the door of the Impala, Dean stepped out and slammed the door shut. He walked up to the door and froze. He couldn't seem to pluck up the guts to ring the doorbell. _Get your head in the game man_. _You hunt monsters and you're nervous about something as silly as seeing an old girlfriend. _With that thought, Dean went for it and pushed the doorbell.

The door opened and Dean found himself staring into the face of a tall blonde haired girl, who looked to be about eight or nine. Turning her head the girl shouted, ''Mom! There's a strange man at the door!''

''I'll be right down,'' a voice shouted back from up the stairs.

The girl stared at Dean with her eyes narrowed and a suspicious look on her face. ''Who are you?'' she questioned crossing her arms.

''Don't you know it's not nice to ask personal questions, kid?''

''That wasn't a personal question, and my name's Emily, not 'kid'.'' Emily stood on her toes and looked over Dean's shoulder at the Impala. ''Is that your car?'' she asked.

''Yeah.'' Dean answered wondering who this smart-aleck kid was.

''It's nice.''

The sound of footsteps on the stairs, alerted Dean to the fact that someone—probably Kate was coming downstairs. He looked over Emily's head, which wasn't a hard feat because even though she was tall for her age, she was still shorter than him, and saw Kate, there was no mistaking that blonde hair and crystal like blue eyes, it was definitely Kate walking toward the door.

Kate put her hands onto Emily's shoulders and steered her away from the door. ''Hey, sweetie why don't you go outside and play on the swings,'' Kate told her daughter in a low voice.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed, ''Alright.'' As Emily left the room, Dean heard her mutter under her breath in a huff, ''I know when I'm not wanted.''

''Sorry about that, so I guess you've met my daughter, Emily,'' Kate said turning around to face Dean.

Dean stood there slightly shocked. Of course Emily was Kate's daughter, he just hadn't wanted to realize that. Kate had a daughter and a house in the suburbs, she probably had a boyfriend or a husband too. Well, not everyone, when discovering about monsters, left their life behind and started hunting. But why exactly had she asked him to come here?

''Why don't you come in?'' Kate suggested. Dean took her suggestion and walked into the house as Kate closed the door. The two of them walked into the living room and took seats on separate chairs.

''Okay,'' Kate began as she rubbed her hands together nervously,'' So you're probably wondering why I asked you to come here.''

''Yeah, kind of,'' Dean cut in.

''The only reason I called you was because of Emily. Look, um... I really don't know how to tell you this, but Dean, she's your daughter.''

Dean was taken aback by those three words. "_She's your daughter._'' They echoed in Dean's head over and over again. How could he have a daughter? He had never, ever seen himself as a Dad. Sure, he sort of liked kids and wouldn't mind being a father, but with his lifestyle, Dean had never seen himself having a family.

"Are you sure?'' he asked, weakly.

''Yes, Dean. I'm _absolutely_ certain,'' Kate replied.

''So, I've had a daughter for the last nine years, and you never thought to tell me till now?'' Dean questioned. He wasn't sure what upset him more, the fact that he had a daughter or that he didn't even know anything about her.

''I wasn't about to drop such a burden on you. How were you supposed to take care of a child? You were already pretty much single handily raising your brother! And you were on the road all the time, hunting! Not a great environment to raise a child in!'' Kate explained. ''Look, I don't know if this was such a good idea. I guess I didn't know how much this would upset you, but I don't really have much of a choice in the matter.''

''What do you mean by that?''

The look on Kate's face changed from frustrated to one of defeat.''I'm sorry to have dropped such a bomb on you, but I'm about to give you another one.'' She sighed putting her face in her hands and pushing her hair back.''Dean, I'm... well I'm—I'm dying.''

''You're what!? Please tell me you're not being serious right now.''

''I wish to God I wasn't, but I am.'' Her voice was shaking slightly as she continued, ''I've got no living relatives that I know of and I'm not entrusting my daughter and her future to a complete stranger. And who better for her to be with, than her own father?''

''You're kidding right? Me, a dad?! I don't know how to be a father! I wouldn't know where to start. I can't give her any sort of life! Am I supposed to teach her to hunt? What about school? Kate, I take her out there and she's going to get killed!

"Yes, Dean, you should teach her to hunt. I want my daughter to be able to protect herself, long after I'm gone. She may only be nine years old, but she's a tough kid. And if anyone can protect her, it's you. I felt the same way nine years ago. I had no clue how to be a parent. I had no one to help me, my only family having died because of vampires just a few weeks before. But I built a life for both of us. I was going to tell her about monsters and ghosts when she was older, but my time is limited. And I want to spend my last few weeks watching the two of you bond."

Dean was once again taken aback. Kate expected him to take care of Emily and teach her to hunt. How _the hell_ was he supposed to do that? Uproot her after her mother dies, put a gun in her hand, and tell her, ''Hey, kid, all the monsters you were afraid were under your bed are real. And you have the pleasure of killing them.''?

''Does she know?'' Dean asked.

''Know that I'm dying? No. I don't want that overshadowing her meeting you.''

''So she doesn't know I'm her father either?''

''No.''

''I can't believe that you haven't told her anything!'' Dean exclaimed.''She has a right to know.''

''And she will. I just thought that it would be better if you told her who you are,'' Kate said.

''Well that's just great!'' Dean said sarcastically. ''And how do you think she's going to feel about that.''

''I just... I'm dealing with a lot right now Dean and— I just need some help. Okay?'' she sighed.

''Alright, okay, I'll tell her,'' Dean said.

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><p>Dean glanced out of the kitchen window that had a good view of the swings. It was still a little hard for him to comprehend that the girl swinging back and forth on the swings was his daughter. But, looking at Emily, it wasn't hard to notice the similarities. Her long blonde hair and blue eyes were from Kate, but her facial structure and cocky grin—she had inherited those from him.<p>

He rubbed his sweaty hands trying to rid himself of the nervousness he felt about talking to his daughter. He couldn't just blurt out, ''I'm your dad.'' But he didn't know how else to approach the situation. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Kate, giving him a reassuring look. ''Hey,'' she said softly. ''It can't be that bad, huh?''

''You're right. I should should just go for it and get it over with. Everything else should be a breeze after this.''

Kate gave him another reassuring grin and watched as he opened the back door and proceeded into the back yard. She silently prayed that all would go well—that Emily would be overjoyed at meeting her father. She hoped that she had made the right decision.

Emily didn't even glance over when Dean walked outside and sat on the other swing. She knew he was there, he had seen her eyes looking at him when he sat down, but it appeared that she didn't want to acknowledge his presence.

''Hey,'' Dean greeted her, waiting for a response.

''Does my mom know you're talking to me? Cause, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers and you're a stranger,'' she declared finally looking up at him. She gave him a mistrustful glare staring right into his eyes as though she was interrogating him. It sure felt like it.

''Well, you should listen to your mom, it's good what she tells you, but I'm not a stranger.'' He paused for a moment wondering if what he was about to say was a bad idea, but decided to go for it. ''I'm your dad.''

Dean wondered what her reaction would be to finding out he was her father. He ran a few scenarios through his head—most of them involving a hug and instant bonding. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, but he didn't foresee her jumping off of the swing with a shocked look on her face—which was exactly what she did.

''You can't be my father!'' Emily exclaimed. She too had run scenarios many times of meeting her father, but that was when she was younger, and when she thought that he might be a prince who had been kidnapped from his family.

''What's that supposed to mean?'' Dean asked astonished.

''Because... because my father would never abandon his family!'' she shouted.

If Dean had calmed down and collected himself, he would have dealt with this situation better, but what Emily had said both hurt and angered Dean. He would never abandon his family, no that was what his brother had done. And the thought that Emily believed that made Dean angry, because he was_ not _the sort of person to run off, leaving his family behind. ''Well, it's kind of hard to abandon a family that you don't know you have!'' Dean shouted.

The angry expression on Emily's face told Dean that maybe he had gone too far, but before he could apologize, Emily stormed into the house.

Dean put his face in his hands and sighed. He was screwed, he was so _screwed_. He had not even known his daughter for one day, and she already hated him.

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><p><em>Author's Note: So what do you guys think of my new story? <em>_Also, please leave a review. I love reading them._


	2. Chip off the Old Block

Chapter 2 / Chip off the Old Block

_''Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.''_

- Leo Tolstoy

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><p>Kate laid the dish she'd been washing on the counter, freeing her hand so that she could rub her forehead. She massaged her forehead in a futile attempt to try to make the throbbing pain go away. Her headaches were getting worse—she could tell, and even the pills didn't help now. It was still a difficult thought for her to fathom, that her life was slipping away, and one that she tried not to think about. She grabbed the dish up again and submerged it in the soapy water, scrubbing furiously at the dried food on it. Cleaning was one way for her to work out her anger at how unfair her failing health was. She had a daughter who needed her, and the thought of Emily having to learn how to hunt and possibly being placed in dangerous situations made her chest ache. She loved Emily <em>so much<em>, and the last thing she wanted for her daughter was to have her innocence taken away.

Despite the fact that Emily had been born before Kate had even finished highschool, she could now admit truthfully, that Emily was the best thing to ever happen to her. And the last thing she wanted was for her to have to live in fear of the creatures her father hunted. If there was anyone else that she knew and trusted to take care of her daughter, Kate never would have called Dean. But there was no one else. And it was inevitable, that sooner or later Emily would have to have been told about the supernatural. Just why couldn't it have been later, than sooner?

As she finished washing the dishes, the sound of a door being slammed dragged Kate away from her thoughts. She turned her head to see that it was Emily who had furiously slammed the door. She felt a sinking feeling in her chest as she looked at Emily's face, because she knew her daughter better than anyone else and she could tell that Emily was upset.

She hurriedly dried her hands on a dish-towel and walked over to her daughter. ''Hey,'' Kate said softly, bending down to Emily's level and putting her hand on her shoulder. ''What's the matter?'' she asked, concern evident in her voice. Just what exactly had Dean said to her?

''I don't wanna talk about it,'' Emily snapped. Wrenching out of her mother's grasp, she raced up the stairs to her bedroom. Kate sighed as she heard the sound of Emily slamming her bedroom door. ''Well so much for a happy reunion,'' she muttered.

She walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, pausing outside the bedroom door to knock. ''Emily, I'm coming in,'' Kate announced as she opened the door slowly to see that Emily was laying on her stomach on top of her bed, with her head buried in a pillow. She crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her daughter. ''He told you didn't he?''

''Leave me alone!'' Emily exclaimed, her voice muffled by the pillow.

''Emily,'' Kate said in a scarily quite voice. She loved her daughter a lot, but she wouldn't abide her tone. Emily heard her mother's warning voice, and knew what that meant—that if she didn't get her head out of the pillow and answer her mother's questions politely, she would be in trouble.

Emily removed her face from the pillow and sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. ''I'm sorry for being rude,'' she apologized.

''Okay, that's much better. Now, I can tell you're upset. Why don't you tell me why?''

''He shouted at me,'' she said sulkily, ''And he's not like I thought he would be like.''

''Well what did you think he would be like?''

''I don't know, it's just...'' Emily began.''Sometimes when I was really little, I imagined that my dad was probably the most amazing and nicest person in the world. That maybe he was a prince or a superhero, and that's why he wasn't here. But now that I'm older, I realized how stupid my ideas were, and I thought—well I thought that you never talked about him because he was dead. And you loved him so much, that thinking about him made your heart hurt. But now I know he's just some guy you slept with.''

''Emily!'' Kate exclaimed shocked. She'd had 'the talk' with her daughter a few months ago, but she'd tried to be vague about it, and her daughter talking about it so openly came as a surprise to her. ''You haven't been talking about things like that to your friends, have you?

''No, I'm not an idiot. I know I'm not supposed to.''

Kate took a sharp intake of air as she figured out how to respond to what her daughter had said about her and Dean. ''Look, he's not just some guy I slept with, he's your father. And we cared about each other a lot back then.''

''Does that mean that you don't love him anymore?'' Emily questioned, looking at her mother with a sad look on her face. ''I thought people never stop loving someone.''

''Sweetie, it's—it's complicated,'' Kate said.

''How complicated can it be?'' Emily asked.

''Complicated, in that if you don't stop pressing me for an answer...'' Kate didn't even have to finish the sentence, it was clear to Emily what she meant.

''Okay, I understand,'' Emily said. She slid off the bed and walked over to the window. ''He's still out there,'' she commented as she pushed the curtains aside and looked out the window.

''That's something else I have to talk to you about, he's going to be staying for awhile,'' Katesaid.

''Why?''

''Well, don't you want to spend time with him? He is your dad after all.''

''No, I don't wanna spend time with him,'' Emily said letting herself fall back onto her bed.

''That's not an option or something you get to decide, Emily. You will be spending time with your father whether you want to or not. And who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it.

''Highly doubtful,'' a muffled voice said. Emily's face was once again pressed into the pillow.

''I'm going to be in the kitchen making dinner. And in about an hour, you will be sitting at the table with me and your father,'' Kate said sternly as she walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Emily reached into the drawer closest to her bed and retrieved her MP3 player. She pulled her headphones over her ears and turned the player on. Her eyes were closed as she hummed along to _Bad Moon Rising_, letting herself sink into the music, and forget about everything that had happened that day.

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><p>''Emily, dinner's ready,'' Kate shouted from the bottom of the stairs.<p>

''I'm coming,'' Emily shouted back.

Kate finished setting the table and turned to glance at Dean. For the last hour, while she made dinner, she had been talking to Dean, telling him how Emily felt and reprimanding him for shouting at her.

''So, I have to make conversation, huh?'' he asked.

''Yes, just ask her questions. Like, 'What's your favorite color?' Stuff like that. It will help you get to know her and keep the peace.''

''What's your favorite color? Well that's just a stupid question. How is knowing her favorite color, going to help us bond?''

The expression she gave him was one of annoyance. ''Really? You know what I mean, Dean.''

''Yeah, I do,'' Dean admitted.

Upstairs, Emily turned her MP3 off, left the room, and started down the stairs. When she entered the small dining room, she took a seat on one of the chairs. Incidentally, it was the farthest one from where Dean was sitting. The two of them sat there in awkward silence as they waited for Kate. ''So,'' Dean said trying to break the silence and start up a conversation, ''What do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?''

Since sitting down, Emily had managed to avoid looking at Dean by staring intently at her empty plate—something which she could no longer do, now that he had addressed a question toward her. She still didn't know what she thought about him yet—he wasn't that bad, and at least he seemed to want to be her father, but she was hesitant to trust him. She raised her head, stifling a sigh. ''I like to read, and I like to play basketball,'' Emily said.

Sports. She liked sports, he could make conversation with that. ''Do you like baseball?''

She shook her head. ''Nah, not really. Basketball's more my thing.

Of course it had to be basketball, which Dean hardly knew anything about, except that it was an orange ball that got bounced around allot. He was quite for a moment trying to figure out what to say next, but was saved from having to ask anymore questions, by the appearance of Kate. She was carrying a bowl of something which she laid on the table as she sat down.

''Well here's dinner,'' She said.

Dean leaned over the table to see what Kate had made for their dinner and glanced at something in one of the bowls that was green and mushy. ''Okay, _what_ is _that_? Some sort of science experiment?''

Emily tried unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter—she didn't want to warm up to her father in any way, but she couldn't help laughing at what he had said. ''No, silly,'' Emily said through her laughter. She watched as Dean gently poked and prodded the mush. ''It's mashed peas.''

Kate gritted her teeth, angry and annoyed at Dean's comment. Her head ached horribly, and because of that she was short on patience. ''It's what I made,'' she said in a tight voice, '' And if you're smart you'll eat it.''

''But where's the real food, that won't turn you into a rabbit?''

Emily laughed again. ''It's not gonna turn you into a rabbit!''

''Fine Dean!'' Kate exclaimed, "Don't eat it then.

Dean gave her an apologetic look, and Kate could feel some of her anger slipping away. _Damn, _why did he have to be able to make her feel better with one glance? She managed to convey a look in her eyes to let him know that she forgave him, before she turned away quickly and began eating.

''What do you want to be when you grow up?'' Dean asked Emily, resuming their conversation. He knew it was a loaded question. It was highly unlikely that she would grow up to be what she wanted, because she would probably get stuck living a hunter's life—like him, but Dean asked anyway. He wanted to know about her hopes and dreams, even if she wouldn't be able to achieve them. And he made a silent vow that he would somehow find a way to help her become what she wanted to be, he wasn't going to be like his father and chain her to a hunter's life only to have her leave in anger—like Sam had.

''A doctor!'' Emily said gleefully, her face lighting up as she told him. She was obviously very passionate about her choice of a future career. _Crap_, his kid was smarter than him.

''Well that's... ambitious.'' Dean didn't know what else to say about it.

The grin slid of Emily's face and she lowered her head. ''You don't want me to be a doctor, do you?''

''That's not it!''

''Mom, can I be excused?'' Emily asked.

''Yeah.

Emily grabbed her plate and discarded it in the kitchen before running up the stairs into her bedroom.

''What did I say?'' Dean asked, he thought that everything was going really well.

''She's wanted to be a doctor since I can remember,'' Kate explained to Dean as she began clearing off the table. ''It's sort of her dream, I guess you could say. And yes, it's ambitious, but it's want she wants to do.''

''And how is she supposed to become a doctor if she's a hunter?''

''When the time is right, I'll tell her about... all your weirdness. Can you bring me that cup?'' Kate asked tilting her head toward the table. Dean grabbed the cup and brought it into the kitchen, where she was cleaning the dishes.

''When is that? When you're dying?''

She whirled around to face him. ''Yes, Dean!''

''Unbelievable! UN-freaking-believable! You are aware that learning about monsters and her mother dying, all at once, is going to be really hard on her?''

''I know, but... right now she's happy and I don't want to take that away from her. Look, why don't you go talk to her and let me finish cleaning the dishes?''

''I'll talk to her, but we're not done talking about this,'' Dean sighed. Dean walked out of the kitchen and began making his way upstairs. He didn't like that Kate was keeping so many secrets from Emily, and he knew when she was told that she would fall apart. The thought briefly crossed his mind that he could tell Emily the truth, but he realized just how hard that would be. Dean opened her door to find that Emily was laying on her bed. She was listening to music, humming quietly and was completely oblivious to the fact that he was standing there.

''Hey,'' Dean said loudly.

Emily turned her head to see who was at the door. Sitting up abruptly and ripping her headphones off when she saw it was Dean. ''Geez, don't you know how to knock?''

''Oh, right. Sorry about that. So what are you listening too?''

''_Creedence Clearwater Revival,_'' she answered.

''Nice! What else do you listen to?'' His daughter liked the same music he did!

''_AC/DC_, _Metallica,_ y'know, oldies. Hey, could I see your car? Like close up and inside it?'' Emily asked.

_Oldies_? ''Yeah, but why don't I show it to you tomorrow cause it's dark now?''

''Okay, but don't forget.''

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><p>With the knowledge that he and Emily actually had a few things in common—the same music taste and a love for old cars—talking to her wasn't as hard as it had been earlier. The two of them talked about music, Emily gave him the lowdown on basketball (it wasn't as complicated as he had originally thought) and they listened to some of Emily's favorite songs.<p>

Dean looked around Emily's bedroom, it was surprisingly clean for a nine year old, but then neatness had never been something that Dean was good at. The walls were painted a light blue, giving the appearance that the small room was bigger than it actually was. There was a shelf that was cluttered with cluttered with books (Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings and other fantasy books—clearly Emily liked that genre), CD's, cassette tapes, and stuffed toys.

He glanced over at Emily who was murmuring the words to _Old Time Rock and Roll_, which was blaring loudly from the stereo. There was something that made Dean feel happy about watching this young girl singing a song that he loved. Maybe it was knowing that the girl was his daughter, and she was so much like him, with her music taste and cocky attitude.

Both father and daughter were still adjusting to each other, but they were in better moods than they had been in earlier. Neither one of them knew what was to come in the future—pain, hurt, an apocalypses, heartbreak, and betrayal, but for now they were both content and oblivious of what was to come.

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><p><em>I absolutely loved writing how Dean and Emily start to bond in this chapter. When she starts hunting, he is going to be so protective of her! Only a few more chapters before she starts training to hunt. Please leave a review—I love hearing your thoughts about my story :D<em>


	3. Days Gone By

Chapter 3 / Days Gone By

_''Family quarrels are bitter things.''_

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

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><p>Dean pulled himself out of sleep and rubbed his eyes before glancing around the room to find out what had woken him. It was Kate. She was facing away from him as she tucked the hem of her blouse into her skirt, and she had a high heel in one hand, and another lay on the floor. She was obviously hurrying to get dressed—but for what, Dean didn't know. He sat up slowly on the couch, his hand going to his neck because <em>Damn <em>he felt stiff and sore all over from sleeping on that couch. And he decided right there that he wasn't going to sleep on that couch again. Any hotel bed was more comfortable than that couch—and he should know, he'd slept in a lot of them. ''What are you doing?'' Dean asked.

Kate jumped slightly as she whirled around to face him, a startled expression on her face disappeared quickly to be replaced with one of relief. ''Oh good. You're up.'' She pulled her heels onto her feet, and grabbed her purse, rifling through it for her car keys. ''Look, I slept late, and I'm going to need you to take Emily to school. I've got to get to work or I'm going to be late.''

''Well, why doesn't she just ride the bus?'' Dean asked as he rubbed his sore neck.

''It doesn't stop here, and even if it did it would have already left. I wrote down the directions. Here.'' Kate handed him a scrap of paper with directions hurriedly scribbled on it.

''Alright, I'll take her,'' Dean said folding up the scrap of paper, and slipping it into his pocket, after reading the scribbled writing. ''Say, what do you anyway?''

''I'm a secretary for a hosh-posh firm. It's not really the best job, but it's better than being a waitress or a cashier. Aha!'' Kate exclaimed withdrawing her keys from her purse.

Dean grabbed his boots off the floor, pulling them onto his feet, and tied the laces. He stood up bending his neck and sighing with relief when he heard the satisfying crack. _Ah, well, that feels a lot better. But I'm definitely sleeping in a hotel tonight. _He watched as Kate applied her makeup in front of a mirror, rushing so she wouldn't be late for work. Dean didn't think she needed any makeup, he had seen her without it and she looked just as beautiful. The day before when he had seen her after nearly ten years, he was surprised at how little she had changed. She was older of course, with a few small wrinkles, and she looked slightly tired with dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was shorter, but over all she hadn't changed that much. She was still just as beautiful. Which might provide a problem for him.

Years ago, when he had first seen, her his heart had seemed to stop just looking at her. There were very few women who had ever made Dean feel that way. Maybe he had loved her, and maybe he still did; he wasn't quite sure about that part, but what he did know was that most of the time all it took for him to spend the night with a women was for her to be pretty and sometimes even a bit brainless. Dean knew he wasn't the greatest guy when it came to his morals, but his life sucked, and he was going to enjoy it where he could. The problem was that seeing her again was awakening all those old feelings, which was bad considering that she was dying. Dean cleared his head, he didn't have time to be thinking about this right now, he had to take his daughter to school. He realized that Kate had just left, and he was going to have to wake Emily up and get her ready for school. Dean was not looking forward to that—he hoped his daughter was a morning person.

* * *

><p>Dean slowly pushed open the door to Emily's bedroom. The room was completely clothed in darkness except for the light that seeped from the edges of the the window's curtains. He was glad to see that his daughter had no problem with sleeping in the dark. Dean could still remember when Sammy was a kid, how afraid of the dark he was—terrified that one of the monsters their father hunted might be hiding, waiting to eat him.<p>

With the little amount of light that was in the room, Dean could just make out the lump in the bed that was Emily. He moved forward, stopping in front of the bed. Dean nudged Emily a little to wake her up.

Caught between sleep and being awake, Emily was vaguely aware of the sensation of someone nudging and prodding at her. She let out a sleepy moan and turned over, hoping the nudging would stop. It didn't, so she flung her arm in the direction of where it was coming from, smiling slightly when her hand made contact with someones face, and they exclaimed in pain. ''Son of a...'' a familiar voice said, Emily recognized it as her father's. ''What was that for?''

''Stop trying to wake me up. I don't want to get up!'' Emily whined sleepily, pulling her pillow over her head.

''You don't really have much of a choice, kiddo. You've gotta go to school.''

''Okay,'' Emily relented with a sigh, casting aside her pillow. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes as she yawned. ''Hey!'' she exclaimed as she realized something, all traces of sleepiness suddenly gone. ''I get to see your car today! Right?''

''Yeah, cause I'm driving you to school in it."

She smiled at him and climbed out of bed. ''Can you make me breakfast while I get dressed?'' Emily asked.

''Cooking isn't really my area of expertise, but how does a bowl of cereal sound?''

Emily shrugged, ''It sounds okay.''

* * *

><p>After Emily changed and stuffed her school books into her backpack, she joined Dean in the kitchen for breakfast. Emily jumped up onto one of the chairs that had been pushed against the counter, and swung her her feet back and forth as she waited for breakfast.<p>

Dean opened one of the cabinets, and looked through it, taking a box of frosted flakes out. Searching through another cabinet, he was able to find two bowls for the cereal. ''So... um do you like school?'' he asked as he poured the cereal into the bowls.

''Schools good, it's okay.''

''Alright, here you go,'' Dean set one of the bowls of frosted flakes and a cup of milk on the counter in front of Emily. ''Eat your cereal, cause I gotta get you off to school.'' He sat down next to Emily with a bowl of cereal for himself.

''Alright,'' Emily said as she proceeded to eat her breakfast. ''So, what do you do? I mean you've got a job, right?'' she asked.

Dean froze for a moment, he couldn't very well tell her what he really did, not yet anyway. ''Uh, well I'm a salesmen.'' he said in a moment of brilliance. Salesmen was a good cover, it would be able to explain why he traveled so much.

''Oh, that's cool. Do you have any brothers or sisters?'' she asked, curious to know more about her father. ''I'm an only child, but then you already knew that.''

''Uh, yeah, actually I do. I have a little brother, his name's Sam.''

''Where is he?''

''He's at Stanford,'' Dean said. ''It's a college,'' he added as a second thought.

''Oh, I know it's a college. I'm going to go to college and medical school someday, so I can become a doctor and help people.''

''Are you done with your breakfast?'' he asked, leading the subject away from Sam, and Emily's dream of becoming a doctor. It almost broke his heart, when he thought of how his daughter's dream was most likely not going to happen. And he was the one who was going to have to break it.

''Uh-huh.'' Emily nodded. ''I just have to brush my teeth, put my shoes on, tie them, and grab my backpack, then I'll be ready." She slid off the chair and ran upstairs to finish getting ready.

Picking up the bowls and cups, Dean dropped them into the sink and turned the faucet on, letting the water soak the food off the dishes. For a moment, he briefly wondered how he had become so domestic: washing dishes and taking his daughter to school. Those were normal things that normal people did, and here he was doing such normals things, not on the road hunting monsters and ghosts. With surprise, Dean realized that he actually enjoyed this—having a normal life.

''I'm ready! Let's go!'' Emily called out from behind him. Dean turned around to see her standing there, now wearing a jacket and with her backpack slung across her shoulders.

''Okay, just give me a minute.'' Dean dried his hands, and walked into the living room, grabbing his jacket before they left. As soon as they got outside, Emily sprinted toward the car shouting, ''I call shotgun!''

''You are aware there are only the two of us?''

''Yup! But I still call shotgun.'' Emily opened one of the car doors and jumped in, waiting for her dad.

''Geez kid, you're frigging fast.'' Dean said as he sat in the drivers seat.

''It's cause I'm small.'' Emily peered around the the seats, taking in the car and all it's glory. ''Did you know there's an army man stuck in one of the ashtrays?'' she asked, turning her attention away from the car and back to her father.

''Yeah, but don't take him out. It's sorta part of the car.

''Okay, I won't. I'm gonna name him... Steve Rogers."

''Man, you are one weird kid.''

''I know,'' Emily said good-heartedly with a shrug.

Dean handed Emily a pile of tapes, '' Go ahead, pick one.'' he told her.

''_Steppenwolf! Born To Be Wild_!'' She exclaimed, handing the CD to him. ''I love that song.''

''Alright. Good choice!'' Dean started the car, put the tape in and the two of them took off toward the school.

_''Get your motor runnin', Head out on the highway,'' _Dean sang along with the music.

_''Looking for adventure, In whatever comes our way,'' _Emily sang as she joined her father, both of them singing as loudly as they could until they reached the school.

Dean switched the music off and double checked the directions Kate had given him. ''Is this it?''

''Yup.'' Emily answered, popping the p at the end. She opened the door, grabbing her backpack as she jumped out of the car. ''Bye,'' she called back, walking up to the school.

''Hey,'' Dean said loudly, rolling down one of the windows, and calling after her. Emily stopped and turned around, wondering why he'd called her. ''By the way, what's your favorite color?''

Emily grinned as she said, ''Blue. Not like the blue in my room, but sort of like a TARDIS blue.''

''I have no idea what that means.''

''It's sort of like a really dark blue. Bye,'' she said, giving Dean a little wave before she resumed walking up to the school.

* * *

><p>When Dean returned to the house, he realized that without Emily and Kate, there was nothing for him to fill the next several hours with. He checked the newspaper and computer for any strange deaths in town, and came up with one big fat nada. <em>How can there not be anything supernatural in this town? Nine years ago, it was steaming with vamps. <em>He wandered around the house aimlessly before coming upon a pile of scrapbooks and videotapes that were nearly all marked with Emily's name. Kate must have left them out for him. Dean grabbed the first video on the top, slipping it into the VCR player, and sat on the couch with the remote in his hand.

The screen lite up, with the face of a little girl who couldn't have been more than five. Dean instantly recognized her, it was Emily, four years younger, but it was definitely her. She was smiling and laughing at her mother who was holding the camera.

_''Mommy, I wanna sing a song for the camera. Can I?'' _Emily asked.

_''Sure, go ahead, sweetie.'' _Kate's voice said from behind the camera.

Emily began singing _Walking On Sunshine _off key and quite a few times got the words wrong and mixed up. Dean couldn't keep a smile off his face as he watched the videos of his goofy and cheerful little girl, but as he watched, his feelings changed. Regret, that was what he was feeling. Nine years he had missed of his daughter's life. He couldn't get those years back, not even by watching videos of her. He had missed her first words, watching her take her firsts steps, he had missed everything. How could Kate not tell him? She was his daughter too! And even though it would have been hard raising a daughter, Dean knew he could have done it. And because of the years he had missed, he and his daughter barely knew each other.

Dean turned the TV off, and leaned back, his face in his hands. Maybe he shouldn't be so bothered about this, but he was. With a sigh, he reached forward, grabbing one of the scrapbooks. _Emily's First Five Years_ was written in cursive on the front of the book. The earliest pages had been put together hurriedly, with not much effort put into them. But the decorative pages were not what Dean was interested in, it was the pictures. There was a picture of Emily sitting in a bathtub, her wet hair slicked back and a happy grin on her chubby little face, one of Emily wearing a large purple hat, that was sliding down her ears, and Dean's personal favorite, of the little girl standing happily arms extended, in front of a Christmas tree, with an excited grin on her face.

He had only known his daughter for less than two days, but Dean loved her so much, and his biggest regret, was not being there as she grew up. Dean was so engrossed with looking at the pictures, that he didn't notice the door open, and someone walking in.

''Hey. Watcha lookin at?''

Dean looked around the room, to find out who had asked the question. He turned around to see Emily leaning over his shoulder. But it was the large purple bruise around one of her eyes that drew his attention.

''Who the hell hurt you!? I'll kill them!''

''Yeesh, I just got in a fight, it's not a big deal. That's why I got sent home early,'' Emily explained, plopping down onto the couch. She fingered the scrapbooks a little, looking through the old pictures.

''You still haven't answered my question. Who hurt you?''

''Lydia Jones. She used to be my friend, but she's not anymore. When I told her about you, she told me that her mom said that you're just a delinquent who left my mom as soon as you got what you wanted. That's not true, so I pushed her. It didn't even really hurt her, but she started crying and whining like a big baby, and her brother came over and hit me in the face.''

''Listen, if anyone ever hits you again, you hit them right back. Alright?''

''Okay.''

''Come over here, and lemme get a look at it.''

Emily slid on the couch over to her father. She flinched as Dean gently touched the bruise around her eye.

''Well, that's one helluva bruise,'' He declared.

''I know.'' Emily cried. ''It really hurts.''

''You should put some ice on it,'' Dean suggested.

Emily slid off the couch, starting for the kitchen, she wanted to get a snack and she needed an icepack for her eye. ''Hey.'' Dean said. Emily stopped and turned around, facing her father. ''I can teach you how to fight.''

''Really?'' she asked excitedly, her eyes widening at the thought. ''But I don't know if mom will like that,'' Emily said with a sigh.

''I'll talk to her about it. But before you go in to the kitchen, here's a little fighting tip. You kick a guy right here,'' Dean told her, pointing toward his crouch. ''And chances are good that he'll leave you alone.''

''Okaay. But I don't think I'll ever need to do that,'' Emily said, her eyes narrowing in confusion. ''I'm gonna go get an icepack, and something to eat.''

''Alright, you do that.'' Dean said as he resumed looking at one of the scrapbooks. He knew that when Emily became a hunter, teaching her to protect herself would be one of the most important things he would have to do.

Meanwhile, Emily headed into the kitchen, and began to assemble herself a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Her bruised eye still stung a little, but that wasn't what she was thinking about. She was still reeling from the events of yesterday, and the shock of meeting her father. Emily had acted nonchalant to her father about what Lydia's mother had said about him, as though it didn't bother her, but the truth was, it did. She barely knew him. And as much as Emily didn't want to think the worst of him, there was still that little voice that told her she didn't really know anything about him.

She finished placing banana slices on the peanut butter slathered bread, and placed another piece of bread on top. Emily headed back into the living room and jumped onto the couch, her sandwich in on hand and the remote in the other. She began flipping through channels for something to watch.

''Woah, hold on a minute,'' Dean exclaimed. ''Don't you have like homework or something like that to do before you start watching TV?''

Emily sighed and gave him a pleading look with puppy dog eyes. ''Can't I eat first while watching TV?''

''Oh, all right,'' Dean gave in.

''Thanks!''

Dean pushed aside the scrapbooks in search of his cellphone. When he found it and checked to see if there were any new messages, he was disappointed and slightly worried that there weren't any. It had been a few weeks since his father had left to go on a hunt. Usually Dean wouldn't be worried—his father knew how to take care of himself, but he hadn't received any phone calls or messages from John in almost two weeks.

He glanced up to see that Emily was busy watching a TV Show and eating her sandwich, and grabbed his cell phone. Dean walked into the hallway where he proceeded to leave a message on his father's phone. If his father didn't respond back soon, well then, Dean would have no choice but to contact his brother.

* * *

><p>It didn't take them long to settle into a routine. Kate would leave early in the morning for work, while Dean made sure Emily got to school. The problem of filling his empty hours, was solved when Kate suggested that he work on fixing her mother's old car. This also provided Dean and Emily with more time to bond, seeing as how she was fascinated with old cars and how they worked. It became an almost daily sight for Kate to see Dean instructing Emily on how cars worked and how to fix them, while old rock music blared from the stereo in the garage. He even helped Emily with some of her homework, though not very well.<p>

Still Dean couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this life couldn't last for any of them, probably because he knew it wouldn't. Kate's health was deteriorating, and he saw it even if their daughter didn't. Her work days were becoming shorter, she had hardly any energy, the dark circles under her eyes were becoming more prominent, and he could tell that she was losing weight. Dean approached her one night about taking time away from her job, ''Not happening,'' was how she had responded.

''What do you mean, 'Not happening'?'' he questioned angrily. ''You barely seem to have any energy at all, but that's okay, because why spend what time you have left with your—our daughter, when you can spend it working?!''

''I have to keep working! Ever single paycheck will help her—will help both of you when I'm gone!''

''Oh, and there's another thing I want to talk to you about. I can't do this!''

''Do what? Raise a daughter?''

''No, I got no problem raising Emily. I do have a problem with this charade, and how we're tiptoeing around, acting like everything is great, like you're not dying! Do you even care a bit about how our daughter friggin feels?''

''Don't you dare act like I don't care about my daughter! I probably never would have called you here if I had known that this was how you were going to be, except for the fact that I care about my daughter's well being.''

''Yeah, well it sure doesn't seem like it."

''You know what,'' Kate said exasperated. ''That's it. Leave.''

''What?''

''You heard what I said. You can spend the night at a hotel. I know how much you love them.'' She said in a snide voice.

''Fine, I'll just do that then.'' Dean snatched his coat up and left, making sure to slam the door as loudly as he could on his way out. He drove around in the Impala for a while searching for a hotel, but he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings, for all he knew he could've already passed by one. Dean stopped the car, and grabbed his cellphone, maybe he should call her and apologize, but on second thought he decided not to. He balled his jacket up and placed it under his head as he settled in for a night of sleeping in his car. It was going to be a long night.


End file.
